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Methow River

The rule for this water, with the receipt.

Regulated stretches: see the pamphlet rules below

Okanogan County · River · WA

Has its own special rules
How to read this page:Official text quoted regulationParsed fields from the ruleDerived calculated from rulesContext conditions, not a ruleAdvice our suggestion

The rules for this water, verbatimOfficial text

Straight from WA's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.

The reach you are on
from mouth to County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge
  • All species
    CLOSED WATERS.
Other reaches in this official entry
tributaries from mouth to County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge except Black Canyon Creek
  • All species
    Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement (CRSSE) required for salmon and steelhead fishing (ages 15 and older).
  • Eastern brook troutSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    No min. size. No daily limit.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Closed.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Catch-and-release.
CRC 621from County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge to Gold Creek
  • All species
    Selective gear rules.
  • All game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 15
    Catch-and-release.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 15
    Closed.
tributaries from the County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge to Gold Creek, except Gold Creek
  • All species
    Selective gear rules.
  • Eastern brook troutSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    No min. size. No daily limit.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Catch-and-release.
CRC 621from Gold Creek to Foghorn Dam
  • All species
    Internal combustion motors prohibited. Selective gear rules.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 30
    Closed.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 30
    Catch-and-release.
Out of season today
  • WhitefishDec. 1-Last Day of Feb. (out of season today)
    Statewide min. size/daily limit. Whitefish gear rules. Open for whitefish only.
all tributaries from Gold Creek to Foghorn Dam except Beaver Creek, Chewuch River, Libby Creek, and Twisp River
  • Eastern brook troutSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    No min. size. No daily limit.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Closed.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Catch-and-release.
from Foghorn Dam to Weeman Bridge, including tributaries except Wolf Creek
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Aug. 15
    Closed.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Aug. 15
    Catch-and-release. Selective gear rules.
Out of season today
  • WhitefishDec. 1-Last Day of Feb. (out of season today)
    Statewide min. size/daily limit. Whitefish gear rules. Open for whitefish only.
CRC 621from Weeman Bridge to the falls above Brush Creek
    Out of season today
    • WhitefishDec. 1-Last Day of Feb. (out of season today)
      Statewide min. size/daily limit. Whitefish gear rules. Open for whitefish only.
    all tributaries from Weeman Bridge to the falls above Brush Creek except Lost River, Goat Creek, and Early Winters Creek
    • All species
      Selective gear rules.
    • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
      Closed.
    • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
      Catch-and-release.

    Statewide base layerParsed

    These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.

    Season
    Saturday before Memorial Day through Oct. 31Statewide
    Gear
    One line, up to 3 hooks; barbed or barbless; single, double, or treble hooks allowedStatewide
    Bait
    Allowed. Chumming prohibited unless a water's special rules permit itStatewide
    Poles
    1 pole. A two-pole endorsement covers lakes and ponds only.Statewide

    Where the verbatim rules above name a species, season, or limit, they replace the rows below. Each row is tagged with the layer it comes from.

    SpeciesDaily limitSize
    Trout
    		2min. 8"Statewide
    Steelhead
    Release all wild steelhead.
    		2min. 20"Statewide
    Whitefish
    		15-Statewide
    Bass (largemouth and smallmouth)
    No size restriction or daily limit in rivers, streams, and beaver ponds.
    		No limit-Statewide
    Walleye
    No size restriction in rivers and streams.
    		No limit-Statewide
    Channel catfish
    No min. size in rivers and streams.
    		No limit-Statewide

    How this answer was assembled

    1. StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
    2. This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
    3. Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.

    Where this stretch begins and ends

    Loading map…

    The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.

    • mouth(mouth terminus (adjacent named water))
    • County Rd. 1535 Bridge(road: not found near line)
    • tributaries from mouth(no geocodable landmark class)
    • County Rd. 1535 Bridge except Black Canyon Creek(road: not found near line)
    • Gold Creek(tributary: gold creek)
    • tributaries from the County Rd. 1535 Bridge(road: not found near line)
    • Gold Creek, except Gold Creek(no geocodable landmark class)
    • Foghorn Dam(dam: not found near line)
    • all tributaries from Gold Creek(tributary: not found near line)
    • Foghorn Dam except Beaver Creek, Chewuch River, Libby Creek, and Twisp River(dam: not found near line)
    • Weeman Bridge, including tributaries except Wolf Creek(road: not found near line)
    • Weeman Bridge(road: not found near line)
    • the falls above Brush Creek(falls: not found near line)
    • all tributaries from Weeman Bridge(road: not found near line)
    • the falls above Brush Creek except Lost River, Goat Creek, and Early Winters Creek(falls: not found near line)

    0 of 9 stretch boundaries resolved to points on the line (failed). Landmark pins are approximate where the law names a landmark; confirm posted boundaries at the water. Unresolved ends stay open rather than guessed.

    Season at a glanceDerived

    J
    F
    M
    A
    M
    J
    J
    A
    S
    O
    N
    D
    opensome stretchesclosedunknown

    Next change: closes Nov. 1, 2026.

    Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.

    At the water nowContext

    Overnight
    50°F
    Mostly Clear
    Wind 8 mph · 0% precip
    Wednesday
    76°F
    Sunny then Patchy Smoke
    Wind 1 to 8 mph · 0% precip
    Wednesday Night
    54°F
    Haze then Mostly Clear
    Wind 3 to 7 mph · 0% precip

    Streamflow: 113 cfs at methow river above goat creek near mazama, wa (2026-07-29 01:30)

    Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.

    What are you fishing for here?Advice

    Pick from the species named in Methow River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.

    You also need (Washington)

    • Fishing license. Everyone age 16 and older needs a fishing license. Under 16 fishes license-free.
    • Catch record card. Required for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and halibut, at every age including under 16. Electronic catch record cards are available in the MyWDFW and Fish Washington apps. Where a water's pamphlet entry shows a CRC code, record your catch against it.
    • Two-pole endorsement. Lets you fish a second pole on most lakes, but only where the water's rules honor it. Lake Washington, for example, does not.
    • Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement. Required for salmon and steelhead fishing on listed Columbia basin waters (ages 15 and older). The pamphlet entry says so where it applies, for example the lower Yakima River.
    • On this water: record salmon and steelhead on your catch record card under code 621.
    • On this water: parts of this river require the Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement; the stretch rules above say where.

    Checked against WDFW fishing licenses and catch record cards on July 2, 2026.

    Receipts

    Statewide rules
    Statewide
    2026-27 WA Sport Fishing Rules - statewide freshwater rules & species rules (rivers)
    Checked against this official source on July 2, 2026.
    Special rules - Methow River
    This water
    2026-27 WA Sport Fishing Rules - columbia basin rivers special rules, l n
    Checked against this official source on July 7, 2026.
    These rules matched the official source when we last checked (July 3, 2026). If a future check ever disagrees, this page gets flagged automatically. How we check our data

    Local services near Methow River

    Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.

    Run a shop or guide service on Methow River? Get listed.